The Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday seized 267 dunums of land owned by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Bardala and Tayasir villages in Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley.
Israel’s land grab policy is mainly aimed at expanding existing settlements built on Palestinian-owned lands in violation of international law.
According to Wafa news agency the seized lands are located close to a former Israeli military camp that has been recently reconstructed and equipped with new rooms and services.
The Israeli move poses a real danger to the Palestinian families living in the area. These families fear that it would be a prelude to their forcible transfer under false security pretexts aimed at seizing more Palestinian lands in favor of settlement expansion projects.
The Islamic Christian Commission to Support Jerusalem and Holy sites in an official statement condemned Israel’s confiscation of the Latin Patriarchate’s lands in the Jordan Valley and described the move as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”.
The secretary general of the commission Hanna Issa said that the successive Israeli governments have fully supported the settlement activity in the Palestinian territories.
Issa stressed that the bilateral negotiations since the signing of Oslo Accords have never limited or put an end to land confiscation and settlement construction. On the contrary Israel has intensified its settlement policies over the past years.
